beautiful + crafted + life

Where Have You Been?….

Well, on vacation, and I know I’ve been MIA for a loooong time, and no, I was not on vacation for that loooong period of time (had I won the Powerball Lottery, maybe)

We took a cruise over Thanksgiving holiday, and had an amazing time.

We spend time in Miami a few days prior and after, which was great, I’d live in Miami, ONLY, if I could live the way I’d want to, and then in that case I would NEED to have won that 550 mill Powerball game! 🙂

Lets start on Sat the 19th, my favorite brother (and only) Robbie flew into town with his amazing wife, Amber, and my handsome nephew Kobe, along with the folks we drove down to South Beach, and had lunch at Tap Tap, which has been featured on Drive-Ins, Dinners, and Dives, and let me tell you this, it was so good!!

My lunch; conch, which was delish!

On Sunday we got onboard the Carnival Glory, (and made a beeline to Guy’s Burgers – they were so good!)

Monday was spent in the Bahamas.

The amazing view from my beach chair!

My drink: a Bahama Mama, in a coconut, and handed a bottle of Bacardi….my idea of what a drink should be!

Tuesday at sea, on our way to St. Thomas on Wednesday, were the humidity was so high, my sunglasses wouldn’t stay on….gross…but the island was beautiful, with warm waters.

Charlotte Amalie, St Thomas, USVI

We took the Sky Ride to the top for a view of the city.

We spent Thanksgiving in the wonderful city of San Juan, Puerto Rico. We took a bus tour of San Juan and Old San Juan, it was so great to learn about the city, and how everything became to be what it is today. I have to say I wasn’t really looking forward to going there, and it turned out to be my favorite place. I’d go back!

San Juan, PR

Lunch at Señor Frogs

Rene and I, beach side in SJ, PR

Of course they have Starbucks, and of course I went in a good a cool beverage.

Friday, mine and Rene’s 5th wedding anniversary was spent in Grand Turk in the Turks and Cacaos….The waters were amazingly beautiful here, however the island itself, wasn’t that impressive… I was disappointed by this.

My sister-in-law Amber and I getting ready for our island tour!

We had lunch at Margaritaville, the pace was jammin’ and the food was good!!

The (Still working) lighthouse in Grand Turk

On the snorkeling adventure, the guides were diving down getting conch shells, and preparing the meat…it was so tasty, 5 min out of the ocean…cant get any better!

We spent Saturday at sea, headed back to Miami, when we arrived early Sunday morning, we disembarked the ship, and headed to Sun Life Stadium to watch my nephews team, the Seattle Seahawks, take on the Miami Dolphins…and holy geezze it was HOT out that day, and sad to say the Dolphins won; although there were some pretty crappy calls during that game. The sprinklers also came on mid-game, which was amusing and maybe an ode to Buffalo Wild Wings (you’ve seen the commercial, right?)

Cooling the players down…

Monday we had to say good-bye to my bro, SIL and nephew, which I alway HATE to do, makes me sad 😦

Once we left the airport we headed down to the Florida Keys, had a yummy breakfast at the Southernmost Cafe in Key West, got a few souvenirs and headed back to Miami.

Tuesday we said our good-byes to the folks and headed back to Mile High Denver, and back to the fall weather, which to be honest we were glad to be back in. Makes me so appreciative of the 4 season we have here in CO.

~~So, if you have never been on a cruise, I would highly recommend it! Next cruise, Alaska, summer 2014!!